


it's all wrong

by mothicalcreatures (laelreenia)



Category: Hunter X Hunter
Genre: Implied Sexual Content, M/M, Pre-Relationship, Trans Character, Trans Kurapika, Unresolved Romantic Tension, but neither of them are doing anything about it, discussion of eye trauma, leorio and kurapika like have feelings for each other, the OFC is leorio's roommate
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-09
Updated: 2019-05-09
Packaged: 2020-02-28 18:10:02
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,809
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18761692
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/laelreenia/pseuds/mothicalcreatures
Summary: “I mean what happened to the Kurta was a horrible tragedy,” she said, “But how their eyes work is just so fascinating and so little research has been done. Have you ever had the chance to see a pair?”Leorio gritted his teeth, biting back a comment on just why so little research had been done. “No, I can’t say that I have.”“Pictures really don’t do them justice. You should come down to the ophthalmology department with me then, they’ve got a pair in one of the labs.”





	it's all wrong

Leorio was not studying to be an ophthalmologist. He was studying general surgery and pediatrics. He knew just enough about eyes as was practical for his subspecialties. There was a nagging desire to learn what he could about Kurta eyes, simply so that if issues arose for Kurapika in the future, Leorio could do something, but at the same time, he worried that pursuing that would be insensitive and disrespectful at best. He’d considered asking Kurapika, but that would require Kurapika to answer his phone, which the young man seemed loathe to do.

Leorio’s roommate, on the other hand, apparently had no such qualms. Inani was already well into her ophthalmology residency and was researching the physiology of Kurta eyes and the mechanism that caused them to turn red.

“I mean what happened to the Kurta was a horrible tragedy,” she said, “But how their eyes work is just so fascinating and so little research has been done. Have you ever had the chance to see a pair?”

Leorio gritted his teeth, biting back a comment on just _why_ so little research had been done. “No, I can’t say that I have.”

“Pictures really don’t do them justice. You should come down to the ophthalmology department with me then, they’ve got a pair in one of the labs.”

Leorio made a noise like steam escaping a kettle in his effort not to start screaming.

Inani grimaced. “Or not. Sorry, I didn’t realize this would bother you so much.”

Leorio thought his restraint was frankly admirable. “How on earth did the university get ahold of them?”

“I don’t know,” Inani said. “And, honestly, I’d rather not think about it. What’s done is done. The Kurta are extinct, but maybe some good can come from studying the eyes. I don’t think there’s any harm in trying.”

Leorio couldn’t hide his flinch when Inani said the Kurta were extinct. He never was good at hiding his emotions.

Inani let out a long sigh. “Regardless, I have access to them because of my research, if you ever want to see them.”

“I’ll think about it,” Leorio said. “Right now I’m up to my neck in gastrointestinal parasites.” He also didn’t want to do anything until he had a chance to tell Kurapika about this, because a trip to see the eyes might well lead into a trip to _steal_ the eyes.

Inanisighed again, clearly feeling like she’d put her foot in her mouth about her work. Leorio would feel bad, if it had been about literally anything else.

 

Leorio didn’t get vary far into his homework before he pulled out his phone to call Kurapika. He just couldn’t get the conversation with Inani out of his head.

It was even more disappointing than usual when Kurapika didn’t answer the phone. It wasn’t unexpected, but this was _important_ , it wasn’t a social call or, really, a ‘hey could you let me know you’re not dead’ call. And then the call went to voicemail, except it didn’t because Kurapika’s mailbox was _full._

“Damn it!” Leorio flung his phone full force at the couch, where it proceeded to ricochet off the armrest and shatter the plant pot that was sitting on the window sill.

Leorio groaned. Well, at least it wasn’t the window.

Inani rushed into the living room. “Is everything all right? What happened?”

“Nothing. I threw my phone at the couch and broke the plant that was on the window sill.” He could feel himself turning red.

“How do you miss the couch?”

“I didn’t, the phone bounced.”

Inani shook her head, “Must have been some throw. Those parasites getting the better of you?”

“No, well, yes,” Leorio got to his feet and stretched to crack his back. “But they’re not why I threw my phone. Friend won’t answer their phone and now their voicemail’s full.”

“That sucks. Maybe try sending them an email?”

“Don’t know their email.” He wasn’t even sure Kurapika had an email. He probably had one for work, but not one he’d give out to friends.

“Well, good luck.” Inani said, turning to leave. “I’ll let you clean up the plant.”

“Hey, uh, hold on, before you go. I actually have some questions about your research.” Even if Kurapika wasn’t picking up, Leorio could still learn about what Inani was doing with the eyes that the university had.

 

 

Kurapika didn’t like to think of himself as an impulsive person. He didn’t like to think that he wouldn’t think through his actions just because he was upset, and, moreover, that something as small as Leorio not leaving a message after he called would make him this upset in the first place.

But well actions speak louder than words, or whatever, because here he was naked in bed with Hisoka, since apparently having ill-advised sex had seemed the most reasonable reaction at the time.

“Feeling better?” Hisoka drawled, propping himself up on one elbow.

“Not at all,” Kurapika said, wincing as he pushed himself up into a sitting position. He was going to have a no shortage of bruises from this.

Hisoka chuckled. “Well, can’t say we didn’t try.”

Kurapika let out a long sigh.

“If you’d like we could try again?”

“No thank you.” Despite saying that though, Kurapika wasn’t sure he was going to stick to that. Another round might wear him out enough so that he could fall asleep without his thoughts racing and getting stuck on Leorio.

Hisoka hummed thoughtfully, but didn’t say anything further. 

Kurpika swung his legs over the edge of the bed, intending to get up, get dressed, and leave, when his phone rang again with Leorio’s ringtone. This time, he lunged for the phone on the bedside table in what was probably record speed.

“Leorio.”

There was silence on the other end for a moment before Leorio spoke. “Well shit, I wasn’t actually expecting you to pick up. I just wanted to see if you’d cleared your messages or not.”

Kurapika frowned. “My messages?”

“Yeah, your inbox is full, or else I would have left a message when I called earlier.”

“Oh.” _Oh._ Kurapika suddenly felt incredibly embarrassed and more than a little bit guilty.

Leorio chuckled. “Didn’t realize, huh?”

“No, I didn’t.” Normally he deleted his messages as soon as he listened to them, but he’d left his phone behind on his last trip and it would seem that he had gotten more messages than he’d anticipated.

“Well before you hang up I have something important to tell you,” Leorio said at the exact same time as Hisoka decided he was going to run a nail down Kurapika’s spine.

Kurapika whirled around and caught Hisoka’s wrist. “Stop it.”

Leorio made a confused noise over the phone.

“Not you,” Kurapika said. “My apologies. I’m not alone.”

“Oh, I didn’t mean to disturb you.”

“You didn’t, it’s just Hisoka.”

“ _Just Hisoka._ ”

Kurapika held the phone back from his ear. “We met to exchange information.”

Hisoka laughed behind him. “We certainly exchanged something.”

Leorio made a choked noise and Kurapika sighed and rose to his feet. “You said you had something to tell me Leorio.”

“Uh yeah, I uh… fuck, did you sleep with _Hisoka_?”

“I don’t see how that’s your business,” Kurapika said, making his way towards the bathroom.

There was a long drawn out sigh from Leorio’s end. “At least tell me you used protection.”

“Of course I did, I have no desire to get pregnant.”

Another sigh, this one obviously of relief.

“Look if you don’t actually have anything to tell me, I need to shower.”

“No, no, I do. I… There’s a pair of eyes at my university.”

Kurapika froze half way into the bathroom. “Are you sure?”

“Positive. The ophthalmology school has them. My uh, my roommate’s actually writing her medical dissertation on the physiology of the Kurta eyes. Like how they work and stuff.”

A wave of anger washed through him. His people’s eyes were not things to be studied, they should be laid to rest not kept in a lab.

“Kurapika? You okay?”

He wasn’t, but he did appreciate Leorio asking. “I’m still here.”

“Not what I asked.”

“I’m fine,” Kurapika said, moving to sit on the edge of the bathtub. “There was a long history of scientists and anthropologist coming to ask if they could study us. The answer was almost always no, especially towards those who came asking for autopsies. For us, the body was seen as sacred and, as such, cutting up a body after death was unthinkable.”

Kurapika heard Leorio swear under his breath and then let out a long shaky breath. He waited to see if Leorio would speak.

After several moments he did.

“One of the eyes was dissected sometime last year, at the request of several scientists, my roommate included. I- I know it probably doesn’t make it any better, but only one was dissected and the university has refused to permit the other one to be. Not for ethically sound reasons, but….”

Kurapika tried to swallow his anger. He could see the reflections of his eyes blazing crimson in the mirror. A very selfish part of him wanted to ask Leorio if he could steal them from the lab, but... if Leorio was caught, he would be kicked out of school and he had worked too hard to get where he was for Kurapika to jeopardize his career like that. “I see.”

“My roommate offered to take me down to the lab to see them. I could-“

“No.”

“But-“

“No, Leorio. Thank you for telling me where they are, but I will figure out how to get them on my own. I don’t need you getting yourself kicked out of med school on my account.”

“Hear me out before you cut me off, please?”

Kurapika clenched his jaw. “Fine.”

“I won’t go after them myself, promise, but if I know the way there I could give you that information. I could-”

“Still no, Leorio, I won’t make you an accomplice. I appreciate your willingness to help, I do, but I have to do this on my own.”

“But you don’t. You have friends who want to help you!”

“If you are caught trying to steal the eyes from your university you _will_ be expelled, Leorio, and I highly doubt you’ll be able to get back intomed school after something like that.”

Leorio spluttered, clearly trying to think of a retort, but not coming up with anything.

“Leorio.”

“Hm?”

“Thank you.”

There was an intake of breath on Leorio’s end as if he was preparing to say something else, but Kurapika hung up the phone before Leorio had the chance.

Kurapika proceeded to make quick work of emptying his inbox, before turning off his phone and climbing into the shower. Retrieving these eyes was going to require the utmost care.


End file.
